Pat Harrington

Pat Harrington, Jr., was an actor best known for the role of Dwayne Schneider in the popular television comedy One Day at a Time. For his performance as the lascivious apartment building superintendent, he won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

Harrington, whose father was an actor who appeared in several Broadway productions, grew up in New York City. He attended the LaSalle Military Academy and earned a B.A. and M.A. from Fordham University. After serving in the Air Force during the Korean War, he defied his parents’ objections and pursued a career in entertainment.

He found work selling advertising for NBC and earned a reputation as an entertaining storyteller with a knack for voices. According to news reports, on one occasion, while impersonating an Italian golfer, he caught the attention of comedian Jonathan Winters, who helped him score a spot on The Tonight Show — hosted at the time by Jack Paar. On the show, Harrington created the character Guido Panzini, a World War II vet who shared outlandish anecdotes in broken English about his service on an Italian submarine during the war. The character was a hit, and Harrington reprised it many times on The Tonight Show and The Steve Allen Show.

Overt the next half century he went on to appear in dozens of television series, including recurring roles on Make Room for Daddy and Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, and guest spots on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Munsters, McHale’s Navy, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, The Beverly Hillbillies, Love, American Style, Columbo, Police Woman, McMillan & Wife, The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, The Wayans Bros., Curb Your Enthusiasm and numerous others.

One Day at a Time, which aired from 1975 to 1984, was set in Indianapolis and starred Bonnie Franklin as a divorced single mother of two daughters, played by Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli. As the swaggering Schneider, Harrington oozed faux machismo, and for his performance he won a Golden Globe in 1981 and an Emmy in 1984. He also wrote seven episodes of the show. He also appeared as Schneider in a series of commercials for Trak Auto Parts, and years later, in 2012, he reprised the role again on the TV Land comedy Hot in Cleveland, reuniting him with Bertinelli.

His feature film credits included The Wheeler Dealers, Move Over, Darling, Easy Come, Easy Go, The President’s Analyst and The Candidate.

In addition to his work on camera, Harrington was a prolific voice-over performer who contributed to numerous animated programs. He was perhaps best known for the voice of The Inspector, a French investigator who appeared in the animated Pink Panther series.

Harrington died on January 6, 2016, in Los Angeles. He was 86.